Wahome & another v Ngunjiri (Enviromental and Land Originating Summons E005 of 2024) [2026] KEELC 1383 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Environment and Land Court in Nyahururu ruled that when time starts running for an adverse possession claim is a factual question, so the landowner's early attempt to end the case failed.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the Preliminary Objection that 12 years had not lapsed since the appeal judgment is a pure point of law that disposes of the suit
- 2.Whether the question of when time starts running for adverse possession is a matter of law or fact
- 3.Whether the appeal judgment in Nyandarua ELC Appeal No. 15 of 2020 bars the plaintiffs' adverse possession claim
Key legal issues
#Whether the Preliminary Objection was a pure point of law
The objection was not merited because the computation of time in adverse possession is a question of fact requiring evidence, and the prior appeal judgment did not bar the plaintiffs' claim
Relying on Mukisa Biscuit, the court noted a preliminary objection must be a pure point of law. The defendant's objection turned on when time began running, which depends on facts such as voluntary surrender of possession, and evidence must be tendered. Further, the appeal judgment of 29.6.2023 merely restored the parties to their pre-suit positions and did not bar the 1st plaintiff's claim; the 2nd plaintiff was never a party to the previous suits.
Effect of the appeal judgment in Nyandarua ELC Appeal No. 15 of 2020
The appeal judgment overturned the trial court and returned the parties to their prior positions, leaving the plaintiffs free to pursue their adverse possession claim
The appeal had held that the 1st plaintiff was entitled only to plead limitation and adverse possession as a defence since there was no counterclaim for registration as proprietor. The court here construed that as not barring the 1st plaintiff from asserting his claim, so the parties were restored to the position before ELC No. 330 of 2017 was filed.
Status of the 2nd plaintiff's claim
The 2nd plaintiff, having not been a party to the previous suits, brings a fresh claim
The defendant's objection based on prior litigation could not defeat the 2nd plaintiff's claim because she was never a party to the earlier suit and appeal, so her claim for adverse possession is fresh before the court.
Legal principles established
#- When time starts running for purposes of an adverse possession claim is a question of fact, not law, requiring evidence
Court orders
#- 1.Preliminary Objection dated 2.9.2025 dismissed with costs to the plaintiffs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Environment and Land Court jurisdiction over adverse possession claims
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
All in all, I find that the Preliminary Objection is not merited, the same is hereby dismissed with costs to the plaintifis.
I find that the question as to when time starts running for purposes of an adverse possession claim is a question of fact and not law.
A litigant who is sued for recovery of land is at liberty to plead limitation and adverse possession as a defence only without necessarily counterclaiming for his registration as a proprietor
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment is dated 4 March 2026 but refers to submissions dated 5.11.2025 and a ruling on a Preliminary Objection dated 2.9.2025 within a suit said to have been instituted in 2024; the internal chronology is not further explained
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Wahome & another v Ngunjiri (Enviromental and Land Originating Summons E005 of 2024) [2026] KEELC 1383 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Nyahururu ELC (Originating Summons filed 7.10.2024). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/1383/eng@2026-03-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.